Diller's Drama

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Diller's Drama

By Chip Bayers

Like some hokey primetime plot, Barry Diller's quest for media moguldom needed a third act. Now it can be written. In October, Diller - the man who built the Fox Network for Rupert Murdoch, then colonized the frontier of home shopping - gained the distribution he craved when his company, HSN Inc., bought the Seagram Corporation's USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel.

The drama won't be complete, of course, unless Diller triumphs over the failures of the preceding acts: his frustrated attempts to take over CBS and later Paramount. He plans to combine the new cable channels with the 18 broadcast stations he already owns, and battle ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and Warner Bros. for the eyeballs of American TV viewers. Bet on Barry to craft a happy ending to his tale. What else would you expect from the inventor of the Movie of the Week?